


Ein Kompliment

by blueblue1965



Series: German Songs Collection [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kinda, Love Confessions, M/M, Max doesn't know how to love until he does, Max loves Dan, but actually just Max being in love with Dan, i really don't know how to tag this, more or less
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:03:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22477321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueblue1965/pseuds/blueblue1965
Summary: Max doesn't know how to love, he knows how to control a car at 300 kmh, pushing it to the limit.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Series: German Songs Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668379
Comments: 4
Kudos: 78





	Ein Kompliment

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the song "Ein Kompliment" by Sportfreunde Stiller. I was suddenly inspired to write this last night and well since I always wanted to write something based on this song this grew to be my baby in not even 24 hours.
> 
> This isn't my first English fic but the first fic I'm uploading and even though it's proof read there can still be some mistakes (if you find them tell me please).

Getting a seat in Formula 1, racing amongst the greatest of all time only seemed like the beginning of Max's journey. And for the first years it was exactly that.  
Max has always thought that gathering wins and podiums is the most important thing to achieve. Until it wasn't. 

The thing about getting into Formula 1 at such a young age like Max did mean that you need a whole amount of dedication. You can't allow yourself to care about unnecessary things like love, at least that is what his father always told him. And then Dan happened. 

Dan wasn't much more than a teammate at best, his number one enemy at worst. But the thing about love is that you can't choose who will be the person that sends your world spinning, your sun shining, illuminating even the darkest of days and when it first happened it scared the shit out of Max.

Max doesn't know how to love, he knows how to control a car at 300 kmh, pushing it to the limit.  
Max doesn't know how to be soft, he knows how to put your elbows out to keep a position.  
Max doesn't know calm, he only knows how to not get hurt. 

Max knows that he could never tell Dan for as he would only get hurt in the end.

Funnily enough he didn't and when a heated argument turns into kissing, he feels like he reached the end of a long journey. 

Since then Dan was never anything less than perfect for Max. Perfection in the best possible way.

Dan talks a lot. And Max loves to listen even when he heard a story for the third time already. The way Dan talks, so carefree, makes him feel like nothing bad would ever happen to them.

There are moments in which Dan is quiet. Moments when Max wakes up in the middle of the night finding it hard to breathe.  
Moments after particularly bad races when Max hides under the covers.  
Moments in which Max doesn't want Daniel to talk, only wants to be hold by him until he falls asleep. 

Dan does that, Max doesn't even need to ask.

Sometimes they both manage to reach the podium and yes winning is great but sharing a podium with Dan is even better. Max doesn't care when Dan beats him on track.

Living Formula 1 with practically every cell in your body results in periods where Max's life only seems to go downhill. Dan deals surprisingly well with these periods giving Max new energy, a will to go further, higher, faster.  
Dan is the momentum he needs to go uphill again, his drive in times he can't find his own.

Sometimes (everytime) Max wants to take a minute to tell Dan how much he means to him. That Dan is the best thing that could have happened to someone like Max.  
There is the underlying fear of Dan not feeling the same for him, that one day Max isn't enough anymore because Dan deserves someone easy, someone that loves him with all their heart.  
The truth is Max loves Dan with all his heart. And Dan knows that and loves Max just as much.

Formula 1 can be stressing sometimes. Most of the time.  
Travelling from one end to the other end of the world in just one week can be exhausting. Trying to meet everyone's expectations puts Max on an edge.  
It's then when Dan takes his hand and pulls him somewhere quiet telling him to _just chill for a second_ and Max does, sinking against Dan's shoulder and closing his eyes even if it's just for a moment. 

When Max was a little boy he used to wait for the holidays with anticipation.  
Holidays meant he could go to the track all day, working on his kart and just race whenever he wanted to.

Max is ten years older now but still waits for the holidays.  
Except that he doesn't wait for them to go karting anymore but to spend time with Dan.  
Except that the holidays aren't some random days somewhen every few months but rather the days where they will just lay in their flat, enjoying a day off before the chaos of the races start again.

As an athlete Max isn't allowed sweets en masse. He always used to sneak some with him on the trips to far away countries.  
Now he steals sweet kisses from Dan in between practice sessions - they are sweeter than any kind of candy Max can imagine. 

Max doesn't need to sneak sweets with him anymore. 

For every problem Max encountered Dan had an answer. Every obstacle that is thrown into his way seems small as long as Dan keeps a light touch on the small of his back, standing behind him if he should ever stumble and fall.

For most of his life Max didn't know how he deserved someone as precious as Dan. Back then Max tried to save him for later, to make this vulnerable love between two teammates, two rivals, last as long as possible.  
One can only live with someone as destructive as Max for a short period of time.  
It took Max a year to understand that Dan was here to stay.

With every passing year they spent together Max felt more at ease talking about his feelings. He doesn't feel weak when he cries in front of Dan when it all becomes to much, in fact Dan makes him feel even stronger.

Over the years Max learned different things. He became softer, thanks to the small touches Dan gave him when he thought no one was looking.  
He became calmer, thanks to Dan listening patently when he couldn't do anything other than yell.  
He learned how to love, thanks to all the hard times Dan remained by his side.

Some might say Max is healing, even Dan mentioned it once but Max hasn't understand it. His bones are intact, there is nothing to heal, he is fine.

Max only realises he isn't when he says _I love you_ and Dans answer sounds sad.

Being physically well doesn't has to mean to be fine. 

He doesn't understand why Dan goes to wear the yellow colours, colours that Max had hoped to look absolutely disgusting on him, colours that unfortunately suit Dan very well.

Feeling betrayed, he doesn't know what else to do than to yell.  
With bloody knuckles and a hoarse voice he sinks to the ground, feeling exhausted. Max knew once how to not get hurt, now his love for Dan made him vulnerable.  
When Dan finds him he cries, gathering Max in his arms and under a thousand sorrys and promises that nothing will change Max realises that he has to trust Dan. 

He never needed to learn how to trust Dan because trusting Dan always seemed the most natural to him.

It's hard for Max to turn around to meet not Dan's but Pierre's and later Alex's eyes.  
In the end Max learned to live with it, learned to not be depending on Dan to be calm. 

In the end Dan keeps his promise and while it looks like everything has changed, nothing actually changed.  
Max grows used to the yellow colours that Dan is wearing, making him look even more like the sun.  
Having to spend their time in the paddock mostly apart makes the days they spend together more special, the nights more intimate. 

Max might never admit it but Dan moving to another team is the best thing that could have happened to them.

Now there isn't a tiny voice in his head asking _what if_ anymore.

He tells Dan he loves him and when Dan says it back Max finally knows he means it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed this little mess of mine.
> 
> I'm blueblue1965 on tumblr x


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